August

Tawau the. Gateway to. Sabah from Kalimantan  

​ You wonder how an imaginary line across the sea can change something from one country to the next. Arrival in Sabah felt immediately different. Another country sure, but the feel is different. As I rode away from the ferry terminal Tawau felt international city ish but with distinct Malaysian flavor. Throw in a KFC and a MacDonalds to bring bad food to a good food place. The usual city bustle, cellphones in hand, but the care for strangers and offers of help which are diminishing elsewhere gave distinction.
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On the ferry to Sabah I lost my status of sole tourist. Two others, a European woman and her Sydney based son. We compared notes, hers in an immaculately hand written journal.
Approaching Sandakan my tourist exclusivity disappeared entirely with bus load after bus load of bored or sleeping eyes behind coach windows. Sandakan got dropped from my route.
One of the followers of a Borneo travel group (which AI has attached to me) was asking for a resort which didn't have a queue for the poolside "loafers" (which I assume are those long lie down chairs). People travel for different reasons. Mine has been seeking the real people of totally different cultures in the back blocks.

The road out from Tawau felt cruisey after the Kalimantan roller coaster. Riding rhythm came easily, the engineers thoughtful enough to limit gradient to 10 degrees. Guesthouses well equipped, some even with electric jugs so my butane cooker could stay in the panniers.

Massive infrastructure development going on in Sabah with the highway from Tawau to Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu being redeveloped (550 km). I had a huge boost when a group of about 20 construction workers all stood up from their lunch break to clap and cheer me up one of the climbs.
The junction to Sandakan had a small block of shops, the first was a Doctors Clinic. The pedal
hole in my leg had been refusing to heal for over 7 weeks. The Doctor blasted it with oral antibiotics and a care regime to keep it a little drier.

Finally I was also able to divert from the main road. I headed towards Pitas. Jungle reserves promised orangatans, elephants and an array of deer and reptiles. My only sighting was a huge monitor lizard road kill despite my head constantly craned backwards towards the towering canopy. Beautiful and peaceful country all the same.

Along the way guesthouses were few, but asking for a place to camp brought whole communities into action. The best site in the middle of school yard sacrificed privacy for a thousand questions. With school starting at 7am it was hard to organize my packup routine through the chatter.
I reached the sea again at Marudu Bay touching the far north eastern tip of Borneo, just a stones throw to Palawan Island of the Philipines.
 
 Arriving at a new coast again had a special feeling of accomplishment. This time the Sulu Sea providing a beautiful coastline busy with local fishing boats.
A couple of short hops restored my cash supply which had suffered from ATMs in the remote areas refusing all my cards.
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Those hops also landed me in beautiful bay at the tip of NE Borneo for a rest day. Swimming in crystal clear tropical water hit a spearfishing reflex, but restricted myself to tired blobbing in the warm water. Another milestone since it has been 43 years since I was spearfishing in those waters.
Sabah riding allowed me to catch up on my schedule with days to spare. I chose stops at small pretty coastal villages. Two nights and multiple visits to the little coffee shop almost made me a regular in Bongawan. I was introduced to new local fruits and came away with a bag full of ranbutans.

 The time off the bike has been focused on a flurry of government, media and corporate sponsorship emails. Replies have been few but Singapore Airlines promptly came back with an offer of waiving the cost for the excess baggage on my bike. Thank you Singapore Airlines. Once again friends and family generously support the Cancer cause while the corporate world ducks for cover. Wishing the massive generosity I have received all along the way could be reciprocated with a cancer cure.

Beware walking the Tawau footpaths at night

Following a load of palm oil heads

Down town Lahad Datu

Lahad Datu harbour

Classic wooden farmhouse

Lots of species in the protected area

But my only sighting was this huge guy - another. Casualty to progress 

Through beautiful jungle country in the reserves

Celebration on reaching the Sulu. sea at the top north eastern tip of Borneo

Some big climbs on the road to Pitas - here at Dr Ongs lookout 

The monolith of Kinabalu. 4095 metres

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Beautiful Teringai Bay on the South China Sea

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